There has been a posting of the 055ProB version of this tripod, and I thought it would be fun to add a brief review on the updated version.

Let me give the summary before ploughing on: there are only very few alternatives on the market at this price band that gives you as much support and versatility as the 055XPROB, and it is good value.

So what are the key features on this update? The horizontal centre column design is now much more quick to operate. There is no more need to unscrew items, which was one of the gripes made by planetpeckham in his review of the previous version (you can find the review here: http://www.cameralabs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=541)

You now just have to press a button at the bottom of the centre column and it can just be swung from vertical to horizontal in a jiffy.

I like my landscape photography, and I've just started shooting low, and this tripod reaches 10cm off the ground minus any head. This is remarkable for a tripod that can reach 178.5cm fully extended.

The height of this tripod means it must be made from a lot of material, and it is. It isn't by all means a heavy tripod at 2.4kgs. In fact, you could consider it light for the amount of options it provides. It also isn't a tripod you can carry out "just in case", but when needed, it isn't a heavy burden alongside your photo kit.

The little bit of weight is also reassuring. There will be very few occasions (in reality probably never, but you can never say never) be a need to add a ballast bag to this once your camera is on (it can support up to 7kg, which is plenty). The build quality is of a high standard and it should prove a great investment for many, many years.

Finally a final word about the other part of this combination: I managed to get the 804RC2 head bundled in with the legs. It isn't the best 3-way available, but the performance is more than adequate for general use. Movement is average in terms of smoothness, though overall control is above average. It was a pleasing freebie to have, and I have no complaints because of this. But if I had to pay for it? I'd be looking at the pricier 405, which as a geared head, gives the speed of a ball head but the control of a pan and tilt.

Last edited by Photoj on Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.